Xserve users report performance issues after Apple's Mac OS X 10.6.8 update

Posted:
in macOS edited January 2014
Though Mac OS X 10.6.8 brought a number of fixes and enhancements to Snow Leopard, owners of Apple's now-discontinued Xserve hardware have reported performance issues from the software update.



A growing thread on the Apple Support Communities website reveals that after installing the update, a Mac OS X Server-only process dubbed "hwmond" consumes a huge share of processing power for some users. For those who experience the issue, the process can take up nearly 100 percent of the Xserve's CPU.



"The problem is that the hardware monitoring daemon 'hwmond' takes up around 95% CPU after the update," one user wrote in an e-mail to AppleInsider. "I have personally installed the update on two xserves and both now suffer from the issue."



Users on the Apple Support Communities report experiencing the issue after installing the "combo" update supplied by Apple last week. However, at least one person reported issues with the "hwmond" process after installing Apple's "delta" update for Mac OS X 10.6.8 as well.



The issue reportedly applies to a range of Xserve hardware, while one user, "jjasper," said the problem does not appear on a Mac mini Server.



"So it must be a bug in how hardware monitoring is communicating with the sensors in xserve that is giving it fits," they wrote on Apple's forums, "or is this Apple's way of making us try and get rid of our xserves, haha."







Apple announced late last year that it would discontinue its Xserve line of rack-mount servers. As promised, the hardware is no longer available to purchase, and prospective buyers are encouraged to run a Mac Pro or Mac mini instead.



Though the Xserve has been discontinued, Apple has promised that Intel-based rackmounted servers are still supported. Purchases made up to the Jan. 31, 2011, deadline carry Apple's full one-year warranty.

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 18
    sdw2001sdw2001 Posts: 18,015member
    Random xserve users experiencing performance issues after an update. Yawn.
  • Reply 2 of 18
    jragostajragosta Posts: 10,473member
    Cue all the conspiracy theories from the Apple haters.......
  • Reply 3 of 18
    This actually kinda sucks... but it is nice to know what was causing the problem... why our DNS responses have been so slow.



    Now, what would really be nice is for Apple to issue a quick update to fix the problem.



    I have two Xserves and several Mini Servers... as reported, only the Xserves are having problems.
  • Reply 4 of 18
    outsideroutsider Posts: 6,008member
    There should be an update soon to address this.
  • Reply 5 of 18
    nvidia2008nvidia2008 Posts: 9,262member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by jragosta View Post


    Cue all the conspiracy theories from the Apple haters.......



    Cue all the Apple apologists... Oh wait, they're already here.



    Come on... Lighten up, dude.
  • Reply 6 of 18
    charlitunacharlituna Posts: 7,217member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by njappleguy View Post




    Now, what would really be nice is for Apple to issue a quick update to fix the problem.



    I'm sure when Apple knows the answer they will supply an update.
  • Reply 7 of 18
    min_tmin_t Posts: 74member
    Wonder why this issue didn't materialize during the beta stage. I guess no one has a test xserve environment running.
  • Reply 8 of 18
    sumergosumergo Posts: 215member
    I'm having a similar issue on a 2.16 iMac, except that it is the Dock process that is running at 99%+
  • Reply 9 of 18
    coolfactorcoolfactor Posts: 2,239member
    I've noticed that my 2007 MacBook Pro fan kicks in when playing back video (in VLC) a lot more frequently. Not sure if that's related to the 10.6.8 update, but this started just after installing it. Maybe certain processes are not playing nicely with this update?
  • Reply 10 of 18
    bothausbothaus Posts: 14member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Sumergo View Post


    I'm having a similar issue on a 2.16 iMac, except that it is the Dock process that is running at 99%+



    Then that is a completely different issue. Not similar in the least. Except for the 99% proc usage.
  • Reply 11 of 18
    sumergosumergo Posts: 215member
    Re: Bothaus. All I'm saying, is that since installing 10.6.8, I'm getting thrashing on my machine because of the dock process. This didn't happen before (what's your Dock cpu%) so I am putting forward a possible causal connection. I thought that's what AI forums were about - information sharing.
  • Reply 12 of 18
    ebatteebatte Posts: 1member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Sumergo View Post


    Re: Bothaus. All I'm saying, is that since installing 10.6.8, I'm getting thrashing on my machine because of the dock process. This didn't happen before (what's your Dock cpu%) so I am putting forward a possible causal connection. I thought that's what AI forums were about - information sharing.





    I just experienced and found the solution to this today. It is caused by the Parallels 6 Applications folder in the dock. To fix, delete the file ~/Library/Preferences/com.apple.dock.plist, then force quit the dock process in Activity Monitor. A new dock will be created with default settings (apps, shortcuts, etc.) so you will need to rebuild it as you prefer.
  • Reply 13 of 18
    _hawkeye__hawkeye_ Posts: 139member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by AppleInsider View Post


    is this Apple's way of making us try and get rid of our xserves?



    No. Apple would never do that! But it is typical of Apple's support for out-of-production hardware, unfortunately!
  • Reply 14 of 18
    ouraganouragan Posts: 437member
    I have experienced a similar problem with a Late 2009 Quad-core Core i5 iMac.



    The iMac would freeze, read the hard disk drive for a very long time, take a long time to display file and folder icons, take a long time to open a folder, etc.



    My personal workaround until Apple corrects the issue:



    After applying the 10.6.8 Combo Update, and repairing the permissions, re-install the CPU Help file found on the original Applications DVD that came with the iMac (in my case, version 10.6.2 of Mac OS X Snow Leopard).



    I believe that the so-called "CPU Help file" contains software to exploit a quad-core CPU, as opposed to dual-core CPUs found on most Macs.



    Hope this helps fellow Mac users!





    \\\
  • Reply 15 of 18
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by AppleInsider View Post


    Apple announced late last year that it would discontinue its Xserve line of rack-mount servers. As promised, the hardware is no longer available to purchase, and prospective buyers are encouraged to run a Mac Pro or Mac mini instead.



    Though the Xserve has been discontinued, Apple has promised that Intel-based rackmounted servers are still supported. Purchases made up to the Jan. 31, 2011, deadline carry Apple's full one-year warranty.



    With the Xserve discontinued, how would you set up a RAID 5 rack-mount server with hot-swappable drives and a dedicated UPS.





    What should those Xserve customers do once the Xserve dies and they need to buy a new server.

  • Reply 16 of 18
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Bourgoises Pig View Post


    With the Xserve discontinued, how would you set up a RAID 5 rack-mount server with hot-swappable drives and a dedicated UPS.





    What should those Xserve customers do once the Xserve dies and they need to buy a new server.





    They should probably kiss any dreams of using OS X server good bye. As a long time OS X Server admin, apple is basically killing it with lion, lion has dumbed down the interface it seems, and make it perfect for manging about 10 users.



    Time to call your friends at microsoft and get used to AD. Integrate your macs in with a 3rd party solution in that. It's your best bet.



    Apple only cares about hipsters and soccer mom's now, not the people who kept them alive for years. Makes me sad really



    Though OS X server was always not that great of a product, OD never worked right and would break if you looked at it the wrong way, print ques finally kinda work in 10.6 server. Netboot always worked well but that's really it. AFP falls flat on its face with high load, the list goes on. Shame apple never made it what it could have been.





    Quote:
    Originally Posted by min_t View Post


    Wonder why this issue didn't materialize during the beta stage. I guess no one has a test xserve environment running.



    Apple assumes no one actually uses OS X server I'm pretty sure
  • Reply 17 of 18
    tallest skiltallest skil Posts: 43,388member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by WindowsBreakerG4 View Post


    So much FUD, my eyes burnt



    Too bad you're wrong.



    Quote:

    Apple assumes no one actually uses OS X server I'm pretty sure



    Great first post. Commendable.
  • Reply 18 of 18
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Tallest Skil View Post


    Too bad you're wrong.



    How am I wrong? How long have you been using os x server? How many objects do you have? How many users? WGM, is being killed, have you used the new serveradmin? From what I know the print server, SMB server, NFS server are all gone. We can now use all AFP oh wait AFP likes to crash and burn. Oh well. Guess this will just accelerate my move to AD.



    Also what current hardware are you going to run OS X server on? Minis? Mac Pros? HAH! I need redundant power supplies and hot swappable drives. Oh and it needs to fit in a rack.



    Look at the new iCloud data center. All HP HW in there http://www.zdnet.com/blog/btl/apples...-with-hp/50103





    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Tallest Skil View Post


    Great first post. Commendable.



    Just because it's my first post here doesn't mean I am new to the apple community. Judging by your join date I'd say you're probably a new fan boy rather than a long time user. Apple sticks it to enterprise people. From what I know, even apple doesn't use OS X server anymore. Look at the new final cut and how that's bombing. Apple no longer cares about anything but the home user. Schools be damned, businesses be damned, pros be damned. They're basically sticking it to all of us who kept them alive when times were tough
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